[Ilandria: Ilandrian Gardens]
Awen waited, hoping to hear something back from the Discovery, but no response came. At least not yet. Of course, if the Kazon were on the planet, it stood to reason that they had a ship in orbit too. It could be that the Discovery was in combat with them, or at least speaking with them. That would explain the delay in response.
Holding the communicator up close to his lips so he could whisper, Alex keyed the badge.
"Fala, this is Wu. Stay hidden, I'm going to try and get to y-"
Startled by a snapping twig, he spun around midsentence, fast enough to comprehend the riflebutt coming towards his face but not quick enough to block it. Merde! Was the only appropriate thought before a flash of pain erupted through his head, and blackness followed.
The Bajoran froze in place as she heard Alex's voice. She heard a twig snap, both through his communicator and somewhat nearby. Glancing over, she watched as one of the Kazon hit Alex with his gun, knocking him out. Awen winced at the sight, but as she watched, two more Kazon joined the first. If it had just been the one, she might have been able to subdue him and rescue Alex...three was a bit much for just her, though, especially considering the weapons they had.
Staying low, Awen quickly and quietly moved back from the outer shrubberies. She looked around cautiously as she moved back towards the walled garden. It was likely the Kazon were sweeping the area, so she really needed a good place to hide if she wanted to avoid being captured.
The Bajoran didn't see the entrance on this side of the wall, so she quietly advanced to the next corner, peeked around some ivy, and moved when she saw the coast was clear. A sense of relief washed over her as she saw the doorway and slipped inside.
The stone walls surrounded a lovely garden with three bubbling fountains, flowers, plants, more shrubberies, trees, benches, and a pond. Glancing around, Awen found a tree that was growing close to the wall, with a branch low enough that she could climb it. She moved quickly and quietly over to it, jumped and grabbed onto the lowest branch, and adjusted her grip to be more secure. Twisting her body as she pulled, she managed to get one leg hooked over the branch and then the other.
Pausing to look up, she found a couple more branches she could get to and began climbing further up. Partway up, Awen stopped and moved close to the tree trunk. This would have to be good enough for now. She tapped her comm badge and spoke quietly, =A=Fala to Discovery. Kazon have taken Commander Wu and others. I'm currently hiding to try to avoid being discovered and watching what happens. Will report back in when I have more information. Please avoid contact unless necessary so I don't get exposed. Fala out.=A=
On the one hand, she really would have preferred to hear back from the ship... On the other, they could try contacting her right when more Kazon showed up and her advantage, slim as it was, would be gone. From her vantage point, she tried to get a better look at what was happening...
OFF: